Enterprise, Enterprise, Enterprise !!! -- What is an Enterprise?

From the links:

• http://www.myfuture.edu.au/The%20Facts/Work%20and%20Employment/Enterprise%20for%20Young%20People/What%20is%20enterprise.aspx
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise
• http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/E/enterprise_application.html

The word "Enterprise" is thrown around a lot everywhere, these days. This is because ERP is gaining in significance. Lets face it, it is the enterprises that have all the money...

So what is an Enterprise? ---> A business organization.
An enterprise is an activity or a project that produces services or products. There are essentially two types of enterprise:

• Business enterprises, which are run to make a profit for a private individual or group of individuals. This includes small business.
• Social enterprises, which function to provide services to individuals and groups in the community.

In the computer industry, the term is often used to describe any large organization that utilizes computers. An intranet, for example, is a good example of an enterprise computing system.

In general:

• Any organization, including businesses, non-profits, and government agencies
• A business
• A company
• Entrepreneurship, the practice of starting new organizations, particularly new businesses

In the world of computing:

• Enterprise software, business oriented computer application/software
• Enterprise storage, the storage, protection, and retrieval of data in large-scale environments
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP), an Information Technology term referring to a hardware or software system that serves all departments within an enterprise

What is an enterprise application?
An enterprise application is the term used to describe applications -- or software -- that a business would use to assist the organization in solvingenterprise problems. When the word "enterprise" is combined with "application," it usually refers to a software platform that is too large and too complex for individual or small business use.

Enterprise applications are typically designed to interface or integrate with other enterprise applications used within the organization, and to be deployed across a variety of networks (Internet, Intranet and corporate networks) while meeting strict requirements for security and administration management.

Proprietary enterprise applications are usually designed and deployed in-house by a specialized IT development team within the organization. However, an enterprise may outsource some or all of the development of the application, and bring it back in-house for deployment.

Today, using enterprise application service providers (ASP) is more prevalent. Here, the enterprise application is designed by a third-party application service provider and leased to the enterprise, as an on-premise or hosted service. This is also often referred to software-as-a-service (SaaS) or Web-based applications.

Another trend in enterprise applications is the move to cloud computing, where the enterprise moves some or its entire infrastructure to the cloud -- a type of Internet-based computing, where services are delivered to an organization's computers and devices through the Internet as an on-demand service. Some enterprises may also choose a hybrid solution where cloud applications are integrated with on-premise systems.

Some of the more common types of enterprise applications include the following:

• automated billing systems
• payment processing
• email marketing systems
• content management
• call center and customer support
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• Business Intelligence
• Business Continuity Planning (BCP)
• HR Management
• Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
• enterprise search
• messaging and collaboration systems.

Other common names for enterprise application include enterprise app,enterprise software and enterprise application software (EAS).